"We have been nice girls long enough. We’ve made our cholent…we should take to the streets." - Blu Greenberg

Friday, May 9, 2014

Gender in Fiddler on the Roof

This is an adapted version of a paper I wrote for a class called Modern Jewish Literature.

Norman Jewison’s Fiddler
on the Roof (1971) shares the same characters and basic plotlines as
several of Sholem Aleichem’s original Tevye
the Dairyman stories (1895-1914). However, the two variations tell the tale
in different ways. Of particular interest is their divergent treatment of
gender. Both Tevye the Dairyman and Fiddler on the Roof are products of their
times in regard to gender issues, as seen by the variance in their portrayals
of Golde’s agency and Tevye’s assertion of masculinity.

The original Tevye the
Dairyman stories give Golde significantly less agency over her daughters’
lives than she has in Fiddler on the Roof.
In Sholem Aleichem’s telling, Golde simply passes on the message to Tevye that Layzer
Wolf wants to see him. After Tevye informs her that the butcher proposed to
marry Tsaytl, Golde claims that she thought that would be the subject matter, but there is no indication in the text that she had any such
idea before the meeting. Fiddler turns
Golde into an active facilitator in the match between Tsaytl and Layzer Wolf: Yente
the matchmaker specifically informs her that the butcher has cast his eye on
Tsaytl!” and Golde purposely misleads to Tevye into going to speak with him.

The movie also gives Golde more agency in regard to Chava. In Fiddler, after Chava leaves home with
the Russian peasant Fyedka, Golde goes to the Christian section of town, enters
the church, and demands to speak with the priest when the deacon seems
unwilling to arrange an audience. She then finds Tevye
and informs him of Chava and Fyedka’s marriage. This is the opposite of the
original story, in which only Tevye speaks with the priest, and Golde never
interacts with him directly. When Chava goes missing in the Sholem Aleichem
narrative, Golde sends her other daughters to scout the church rather than
going herself. Once it is clear that Chava is in the priest’s custody, Golde continues
to avoid the church, sending Tevye to confront the priest in her stead.

Golde’s increased agency in Fiddler
from the original Tevye the Dairyman stories
is a reflection of the times at which the media were created. When Sholem
Aleichem wrote his stories in Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, women did not have agency over their own lives, let alone anyone
else’s; wives were ultimately subject to the desires of their husbands. This inequality
was basically irrelevant when Fiddler on
the Roof came out in 1971. The Second Wave of feminism, when society began
to question and ultimately overhaul prescribed gender roles, began when The Feminine Mystique was published in
1963. Consequently, by the time Fiddler
on the Roof was released, its viewers had been influenced by progressive
ideas about equality and gender roles for nearly a decade. These feminist
sensibilities can be clearly seen in the film adaptation through Golde’s more
active role.

In both Fiddler on the
Roof and Tevye the Dairyman, Tevye
continually asserts his masculinity through attempting to control his own
emotions and Golde’s actions. In the original stories, Tevye is anxious that
his behavior is not construed as feminine, frequently stating “Tevye is no
woman” in his narration to Sholem Aleichem. He says the phrase while refusing
to shed tears during what he knows is his last conversation with Hodl, when underscoring his stoicism while waiting for Shprintze to discuss Ahronchik, and when he holds back emotion while Golde is dying. In each of these examples, he is affirming his masculinity by actively disparaging
femininity as well as by exerting control over his feelings.

Tevye’s assertion of masculinity and attempts to regain control of
life are also easily seen in Fiddler.
When Hodl and Pertchik get engaged without first seeking his permission, Tevye
tries to take control of the situation and save face with Golde by telling her
that he approved the match. “Without even asking me?” Golde yells. “Who asks
you?” he roars, devaluing her status as wife. “I am the father!” After Chava informs Tevye of her intent to marry
Fyedka, Golde tells Tevye to come home. Tevye refuses, and when Golde insists,
he warns her, “Quiet, woman, before I get angry!”, needlessly identifying her
by gender. After Golde sarcastically says that she fears Tevye’s anger, he
shouts that he is “the man in the house” and “the head in the family.”

This assertion of masculinity to exert control, either over
himself or Golde, happens in both the movie and stories; however, as seen in
the examples above, it is much stronger in the movie. Although Sholem Aleichem witnessed
Communist attempts to dismantle the traditional family structure, such drastic
changes never really occurred. Second Wave Feminism had a much more profound
impact on practical life and social thought. During the 1970s, many men would
have been able to identify with Tevye’s need to assert his masculinity. This is
not to say that no men were allies of feminism; however, many were threatened
by women’s new demands for equality and disapproved of this break with
traditional gender roles. There is no doubt that numerous American men felt the
desire to quash or at least take control of their wives’ newfound independence,
and would have related to Tevye when he felt the need to remind Golde that he
is the so-called “the head of the family.” Consequently, Sholem Aleichem and
Norman Jewison’s rendering of gender roles within the narratives about Tevye
are clearly products of their times.

Although Fiddler on the
Roof is an adaptation of Tevye the
Dairyman, it portrays gender in a very different way. The movie makes Golde
into a much more active character, taking agency in her daughters’ lives to a
greater extent than she does in the stories. Although Tevye asserts his
masculinity throughout the Sholem Aleichem narratives, his affirmations are
stronger in the movie. All of these differences can be
attributed to the fact that Tevye the
Dairyman was penned during a time when gender roles were strictly enforced
and women were second-class citizens, while Fiddler
on the Roof was made after feminism made a reemergence and women were
considered equal partners in society. Articles of pop culture reflect the
sensibilities of the times and places at which they were created. Although they
tell the same story, Tevye the Dairyman and
Fiddler on the Roof are no
exception.

About Me

Prayer for Agunot

Creator of heaven and earth, may it be Your will to free the captive wives of Israel when love and sanctity have fled the home, but their husbands bind them in the tatters of their ketubot. Remove the bitter burden from these agunot and soften the hearts of their misguided captors. Liberate Your faithful daughters from their anguish. Enable them to establish new homes and raise up children in peace.

Grant wisdom to the judges of Israel; teach them to recognize oppression and rule against it. Infuse our rabbis with the courage to use their power for good alone.